Fishing for salmon and other spawning fish by snagging the salmon with a weighted hook as they swim to their spawning grounds has become quite common, particularly in the Great Lakes region where salmon are seasonally planted in the lakes for ecological purposes. The salmon die after spawning and usually swim to spawning grounds in great numbers, so may readily be snagged with a barbed hook. The hook, however, must conform to state regulations. As for example, in Wisconsin, the exposure from the tip of the hook to the stem cannot be more than 1/2 inch. In Illinois, the spacing from the tip of the hook to the stem or shank of the weight or clamping means for the weight must be 1/2 inch or more. It has thus become desirable to have interchangeable hooks and weights providing the required spacing between the tip of the hook and stem or shank of the weight, which will conform to the laws of the state in which the fishing is carried out.
It should, of course, be understood that in snag-fishing, the hook is cast into the water to snag a fish swimming to its spawning grounds. The hook, therefore, has more than one barbed tine to assure the snagging of the fish when hit by the weight and hook or when the hook is drawn along the fish into contact therewith.
The present invention improves upon the prior art snag-hooks in that the hook may be interchangeably mounted on weights of different lengths and weights and coupled to the weight by a crown having a shank portion giving a preselected spacing between the tip of the hook and the shank portion of the crown.
Other advantages of the invention are that a snag-hook may be weighted in a simple manner and the weights may be clamped to the tines of the hook by a central crown coupled to the weight and having a shank portion providing a predetermined spacing between the barbs of the hook and the shank.
A further advantage of the invention is that a simple form of crown and coupling may couple the hook to the weight, and the bight portions of the tine of the hook leading to the stem of the hook may be recessed in a crown detachably coupled to a metal weight extending away from the tines and eye of the hook.
A still further advantage of the invention is that a three-tined hook may be received in a crown detachably coupled to a weight in which the crowns may be varied in accordance with different fishing laws to provide the required spacing between the tips of the barbs of the hook and a shank portion of the crown.
A still further advantage of the invention is that the hook may be recessed in a crown and coupling member and detachably held thereto by the crown and coupling member, which may be formed to provide the required spacing between the tips of the barbs of the hook and the weight.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent from the following description of certain preferred embodiments thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, although variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure.